24 Ending

The following took place between November6th, 2001 and May 24th, 2010.

The long running drama 24 is coming to an end this May after 8 seasons. You can read the Fox press release here.

I have a few thoughts on the show. I will admit that I didn't catch the 24 bug until 2006. When it first came on, I thought that Fox was taking advantage of the post 9/11 atmosphere (the show premiered on Nov. 6, 2001). So I steered clear of it. Later on I learned that Fox had in fact been filming it 6 months before the events of 9/11, and that the terrorists in the first season weren't even Muslims. They were Serbs.

In Summer of 2006, I was enjoying much needed time off from my first year of law school. I was over my brother's and saw that he had the first season on DVD. I asked if it was any good and he said it was O.K., so I started to watch it. Three weeks later, I had watched every season available on DVD. I haven't looked back since.

Like all T.V. shows, 24 reached its zenith a few years after it came on. I'm a firm believer in the precept that most T.V. shows stop being fresh after a hundred or so episodes. The same was true here. The best seasons were 1 through 5. After that, the luster started to wear off. How many times can we see Jack Bauer save the world? And how often can CTU be infiltrated by a mole before we start to wonder who is running the show over there? Not to mention the infinite changes in command. It seemed like every week, someone at CTU was being removed and replaced.

But in spite of its flaws, it was a fun show to watch. And for the first five years, it was gripping and tense. And it asked some questions that we thought about differently in the wake of  9/11. It appealed to Republicans and Democrats alike, with both Bill Clinton and Rush Limbaugh claiming to be fans. John  McCain even had a walk on part in season 4.

And like it or not, it provoked your thoughts and it never was ambiguous about what some people will do to advance a political agenda, both friendly or otherwise. It was also controversial. Should our intelligence operatives use harsh interrogation if it means saving hundreds of thoousands of lives? Or is respect for the Constitution so important that innocent lives must be scrificed in the name of freedom and liberty? You can decide, but the point is that the show was almost a weekly behind the scenes look at the ongoing war on terror.

My personal favorite seasons were 2 and 4. Season 2 because the show was able to take advantage of being a hit and deliver a grest story and a fabulous production, as well as some writing that is the best I ever saw. Season 4 because the show was still fresh and edgy and introduced my favorite character, Bill Buchanan.

But, like all great shows, its time has come and gone. This one will be on my personal top ten list, along with Battlestar Galactica, That 70s Show, and Burn Notice.

To KeiferSutherland, Joel Surnow, Howard Gordon, Imagine Entertainment, Brian Grazer, and all of the cast and crew, I say Thank You for 8 years of great entertainment. Good Luck!